Women Hoopsters Top Brown

The women's basketball team tied its longest winning streak of the season last night with its second upset in a row, overcoming Brown, 76-68, at Briggs Cage.

The win ups the hoopsters' record to 7-16, following an upset victory over Princeton last week.

In last night's game. Brown dominated the Crimson on the offensive and defensive boards in the first half and scored consistently from the inside.

Sophomore forward Donna Yaffe paced the Bruins with 12 points and six rebounds at the half.

The score remained close due to the hot outside shooting of the Crimson squad (46 percent), despite ineffective defensive play inside. Senior guard Ann Scannell added 13 points and junior forward Nancy Boutilier chipped in with 10 to keep the Crimson in the game.

While Harvard relied on its strong outside shooting Brown accumulated most of its points from rebounding and penetrating, to cop the easy short shots.

The Crimson defense could not interfere with the quick, sharp offensive passes that sparked Brown's offensive attack.

The lead changed hands for most of the first half until Bruin Donna O'Connell put Brown ahead for the remaining four minutes for a 40-37 half-time lead.

Though the Crimson did not fight back right away, gradually its strong defensive effort inside began to change the momentum of the game. When Scannell scurried inside on a quick driving layup, and drew a foul, she went to the line for two charity points to break a 46-all tie, and the Crimson surged ahead three minutes into the second half.

In one four-minute stretch, the hoopsters outscored a faltering Bruin squad, 10-1, and took a 64-50 lead. Brown was never able to narrow the gap to less than five points, as Harvard easily manipulated the Bruins' full-court press to its advantage.

The Crimson destroyed Brown's title hopes. Said Bruin Coach Moureen Enos "We had a loss of montentum on our part. We were struggling and they capitalized on it."

The Crimson will shoot for one more win against Yale tonight at home. Already three games better that last year's 4-21 squad, the hoopsters hope to finish the season "with a blaze of glory," said Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith.